As I started researching this article, I found a number of articles
about the different types of Facebook friends and fans. They use a lot
of cute names for the types of friends and fans (my favorite being "the
poker player"—thank goodness Facebook's "poke" function is pretty much
ignored now), but very few articles address the brand impact that
different types of fans can have.

When you talk to many marketers, they predominantly talk about their
brands' Facebook fans as "brand advocates." This implies that every
Facebook fan a brand has is out there telling everyone how great the
brand is and bringing other followers into the brand's sphere.

Last year, I talked about the myth of brand advocates,
so we won't rehash that in great detail here. Instead, we'll focus on
the types of fans that constitute most brands' Facebook audiences and
the different ways in which brands should treat these various groups.

1. The contest participant

Online contests and sweepstakes are a common way to quickly gain
"likes" on your Facebook page and most likely a large portion of your
fan base. Many companies have very successfully built large lists of
followers this way, but the downside is that many sweepstakes offers are
inadvertently designed to attract large numbers of non-prospects. After
all, who wouldn't want to win a trip to Hawaii?

Many people will gladly "like" you for great offers whether they care
about your products or not. They'll also tell their friends about it.
So if you've run a lot of sweepstakes, you might have a large list of
acquaintances—but not many close friends. If you're thinking of running a
sweepstakes to gain fans, focus on offers that will appeal only to the
fans you'd like to have. For example, if you're targeting IT
professionals, don't give away an iPad; instead, provide an offer for a
free online training course with a relevant certification.

2. The one-time prospect

One-time prospects are those who've visited your page for a specific
reason and "liked" you once, but they really aren't that interested in
you on an ongoing basis. A good example of this might be people who
"like" a resort page for an upcoming vacation but aren't likely to come
back.

Although not an active audience, this is an ideal set of people to
have on your fan list. They might not interact very much, but they might
be inspired to revisit your resort when they see posts two or three
years later. Of course, if your service starts to slip and you start
getting negative comments, they might be less inspired to return.

3. The accidental fan

Among any fan base is a group of people who "liked" your page by
accident. Whether they fat-fingered your "like" button on a mobile
device or just inadvertently clicked the button on their computer, this
set of fans has pretty limited value to you. The good news is there
aren't that many of them, so it's just important to recognize that this
group exists and not worry too much about trying to get engagement from
your entire fan base.

4. The forgotten fan

Just as in our personal lives, we have old friends who've dropped off
our radar. They're still on your holiday card list, but you really
don't keep in touch. This group includes the people who can't figure out
how to "unlike" you and don't really care that much whether they see
you in their feed or not. They are much like the people on your email
list who don't make the effort to unsubscribe when they are no longer
interested. Occasionally, these folks will re-engage with you throughout
your relationship and could turn into closer friends down the road.

5. The inner circle

This group is composed of your employees, investors, and other close
relationships. Much in the way your siblings are part of your personal
Facebook network, the inner circle is highly involved and interested in
what your brand is doing, but this group is not a great set of prospects
from which to generate new business.

6. The badge wearer

Badge wearers are people who've "liked" you not because they actually
like or are interested in your brand, but rather they like the
association of being near you. In essence, your brand becomes a trophy
wife that they like to show off, but they really don't offer a lot of
additional value to your brand (and in some ways might have a negative
impact).

Badge wearers are aspirational followers. They desire to be
associated and hope to someday truly be in the club. As of the writing
of this article, Ferrari has more than 10 million "likes" on Facebook.
I'm sure the brand is well aware that it has a lot of badge wearers in
its fan base.

7. The complainer

This audience strikes fear in the hearts of every social media
marketer. It's the first question asked by companies that are
considering social media programs: What if someone posts a negative
comment?

I'm sure we all have acquaintances who seem to have a negative
opinion about everything. They can tell you about every bad restaurant
experience they've had—and they aren't afraid to share it. But how often
do you hear the positive reviews? Not nearly as often.

Sadly, in our culture, it's more common to vent and
complain—loudly—than to praise. So, it's important to recognize that
complainers can also represent opportunities-not only to improve your
relationship with them, but also with others who are following the
thread. One benefit of having a social presence is that complainers will
voice their complaints directly to you, as opposed to having harmful
conversations with others behind your back.

8. The good friend

This final group is your true fan base. Just as in your personal
life, these are the followers who are genuinely interested in what
you're doing, enjoy being with you, and, when asked, will say nice
things about you. They are less influenced by negative comments about
you and, when pushed into a corner, will gladly stand up and defend you.
They don't need to see you every day, but they like to hear from you
once in a while-particularly when you have interesting news and
successes.

So, what is a brand to do with all this information? The most
important point is that when talking about "likes," friends, fans,
followers, etc., you shouldn't lump them into one group. Brands need to
understand who their audience members are and treat them accordingly.
Ferrari isn't going to sell 10 million cars anytime soon. On the other
hand, Coca-Cola does have a good chance of selling products to its 57
million-plus Facebook fans.

Most Facebook fans aren't shouting your name from the rooftops, but
they can have a significant impact on your success. So, take the time to
understand your company's fan list. You might not see every category in
this article represented among your fans, but doing an analysis is a
good exercise that will give you a better understanding of who your fans
are so you can engage them appropriately.